Seoul mulls paying for N.K. tours with goods

The South Korean government is considering paying for tours to North Korea with something other than cash, out of concern that the North may use the money to build weapons.

A top-level government official even linked the payment for cross-border tours to the United Nations` financial sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests last spring.

The compensation for tours to the North`s Mount Geumgang resort "hinges on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874," the senior official said.

Another government official explained that payments for the tours should be made more transparent, as the UNSC resolution aims to cut financial support that could contribute to North Korea`s nuclear or ballistic missile-related activities.

"It does not mean that non-cash payment is a condition to start discussing the resumption of tours to the North," he said.

"To enhance the transparency of compensation provided to the North, (Seoul) could consider offering goods, development aid or changing the recipient."



Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said the Mount Geumgang tour business does not infringe on the UNSC Resolution 1874.

"The government could consider changing the payment method if necessary when the Koreas begin to talk about recommencing the tours," Chun said.

Pyongyang called the idea "outrageous," saying "nowhere in the world do tourists pay with things instead of money."

The spokesman of the North`s Asia Pacific Peace Committee, which oversees inter-Korean exchanges, said in a statement on Wednesday that "it is the South Korean government`s intention to not restart tours to Mount Geumgang."

He badmouthed Seoul for downplaying the North`s recent proposal via Hyundai Group for talks to resume Mount Geumgang tours.

The North Korean spokesman said it was illogical of the South to claim that it could not accept the North`s agreement with a private business when it jumped at the plan to hold reunions for families separated by the inter-Korean border, which was also part of a deal with Hyundai Group in August.

Tours to the mountain resort were suspended after a South Korean tourist was shot to death by a North Korean soldier there last year. Seoul has demanded a thorough investigation, measures to guarantee the safety of South Koreans and prevent the recurrence of such incidents as preconditions to reviewing the resumption of the tours.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il gave his word to Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun in August that such things would never happen again, but Seoul needs more than words.

"We need concrete, binding rules that ensure the safety of our nationals," a high-ranking official here said.

"If the North makes a direct proposal for talks to our government, we will accept it."

(sophie@heraldm.com)



By Kim So-hyun